With the Sprints coming up at Elkhart Lake next week, and with the forecast looking potentially a bit wet (albeit with the usual long-range caveats), I took a look at my set of rains for my F1000 today. At that moment, I realized I didn't know how to tell whether a rain tire was still good short of running it.
These particular tires came with the car. They're Hoosier bias-ply wets, they were stored in sealed heavy plastic bags in a climate-controlled environment, and they look great. They even smell nice and rubbery. I think they have a single heat cycle on them. When I poke them with my finger, my finger sticks a bit to the tread, and the rubber feels nice and soft. The only source of doubt in my mind is that they were new in 2017.
How long will a lightly used set of rain tires remain usable when properly stored? How can one tell when one's rain tires should be replaced when they haven't been used in a while?
Jeff